01.02.2023 from Phillip Island to Geelong

We take our time, because today we only want to move to Geelong, passing Melbourne without stopping in the city. On the way to the highway, we find a café with WIFI and can handle all our online businesses. The highway is busy today, with cars driving side by side on 4 lanes and the biggest trucks often on the far right lane. Here, the inclined driver stays on the left if they don't want to overtake. Remarkable, as not seen before, are the instructions for drivers to drive on the left.

After a good 200 km, we arrive in Geelong. We have decided to ask at the tourist center about the ferries to Tasmania because since we have been here, we have been trying to get a passage and have been rejected again and again. An old German (who came to Australia in 1959 and stayed) and a young Australian make every effort to help us, and we actually get a passage to Tasmania and a return trip in a reasonable time. The price is considerable, 1,200 AUD, which is 800 €, and since we cannot sleep in the car during the 11-hour crossing and couldn't get a cabin, only the sleeping chairs remain, which have to be paid extra on the return trip. Well, we want to visit Tasmania and the first (payday) has just happened. So, tomorrow evening at around 6.45 p.m. local time, we will leave Geelong and arrive in Devonport, Tasmania at around 9 a.m. in the morning. We are thrilled that it finally worked out. The old German-Australian explains to us why it is unusually cool in the south of Australia this year. It is because of the weather phenomenon La Nina, which brings unsettled and cool weather. El Nino will come again next year, then it will be scorching hot. But that doesn't bother the Red Centre, where it is currently almost 40 degrees.

Today, we choose a campsite by the sea, in Barwon Coast, which is another 25 km south of Geelong. The site is operated by the municipality and closes for the season on weekends.

We take a spot on a peninsula between a river and the sea and immediately walk to the beach, we want to swim. But today, even Frank thinks the water is too far away and too cold, so we sit on the shore and observe the activity. Because the Hooded Plover is breeding here, 2 eggs were sighted on January 3rd, knowledgeable people calculate that the chicks could be fledged by February 7th, which is why the beach section is closed. But on January 28th, it is reported that only one chick, which is 3 weeks old, is running around here. People with yellow vest patrol the beach today and monitor compliance with the regulations. Great, that's how it should be, and there's plenty of beach available.

After dinner, we walk to the river again. It is now high tide and besides a few cheeky seagulls, no one is at the water anymore. It has also become quite cool.

The network is unfortunately too weak for pictures.